With every New Year comes promise and potential. How can we
take next steps in our walks with Jesus?
For some of us, 2015 may have been unbearable and 2016
doesn’t look too promising. We’ve all had some not so great days,
months or years that if we’re not careful can strip away the hope
we have for this world and the people in it.
Paul’s ministry was difficult at best. He faced some ridiculous
adversity and continued to worship God regardless of
circumstances. That choice he made daily can be seen in
Philippians 1:20-26.
Paul writes the church and expresses honestly how inviting it
would be to leave this world and all its trouble behind (Philippians
1:22-23).
Paul knew that death would bring on the peaceful eternity he so
strongly desired. But he also knew he had a responsibility on earth
to continue to spread the Gospel for those who were new to the
faith or had yet to come to know Christ. “I know that I will remain,
and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in
(Philippians 1:25). the faith”
Paul wasn’t actually choosing life or death, he was choosing the
attitude he would have.
If we can look at 2015 with Paul’s selflessness, it is sure to be a
year to remember. Showing purpose in activity and relationships
allows God to use our lives to further His will.
Reflect
What is one way you can make others more important this year
than you did last?
How can you choose to see potential and remain positive
throughout the year?
All of us have a purpose to fulfil in this new year. What is yours
going to be?
The God of the Universe was born into the poverty of a peasant and spent his first night in the cows feed trough. The God of the Universe left the glory of heaven and moved into our neighbourhood. Who could have imagined he would do such a thing? Why? Because He loves to be with the ones he loves. Dr. Maxwell Maltz tells a remarkable story of a love like this. A man had been burned and disfigured in a fire while attempting to save his parents from a burning house, but he couldn’t get to them. They perished. He mistakenly interpreted his pain as God’s punishment. The man would not let anyone see him, not even his wife. She went to Dr Maltz a plastic surgeon for help. The doctor comforted her, “I can restore his face” he said. Sure the doctor meant well, but still unconvinced she explained that her husband had refused any and all help up to that point, and she was confident he would again refuse. “Then why are you here,why the visit?” asked Dr. Maltz. “I want you to disfigure my face so I can be like him! If I can share in his pain, then maybe he will let me back into his life.” Dr. Maltz was shocked and denied her appeal. Stirred by her love- motivated request, he had to go speak with her husband. Knocking on the man’s bedroom door, he said, “I’m a plastic surgeon, and I want you to know that I can restore your face. ”No response or acknowledgement followed. “Please come out,” called Dr. Maltz. Again silence. Leaning against the door, Dr. Maltz appealed to the husband, telling him of his wife’s visit to his office and her inquiry. “She wants me to disfigure her face,” he said, “to make her face like yours in the hope that you will let her back into your life. That’s how much she loves you.” Again there is a brief moment of silence, and then ever so slowly, the doorknob began to turn. The way the woman felt for her husband is the way God feels about us. But he did more than make the offer. He took on our face, our disfigurement. He became like us. Just look at the places places he was willing to go : feed troughs, carpentry shops, wildernesses, and cemeteries. The places he went to reach us show how far he will go to touch us. He loves to be with the ones He loves.
When presents are placed under the Christmas tree, I guess we all look for one with our name on it and the size of it! But often it’s the tiny parcels bearing your name that bring such wonder and excitement. Many times these tiny presents hold more value than the larger ones.
Sometimes I find scripture works the same way. Matthew 1:23 is a small verse with a small phrase packaged inside. “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” —which means, “God with us.” “God with us,” is such a small phrase, but the meaning is invaluable. Jesus’ name, Immanuel, means, “God with us.” God, who created us, left heaven to live with men. He came to show us Himself and the way to life. I have the hope that my Saviour loves me so much He gave up the comfort of heaven, even His own life, for me. He walked down dirty paths where animals passed for me with the same feet that walked streets in heaven. He experienced hunger for me; although, He had created everything men eat. He subjected himself to rejection and extreme pain for me, having done nothing to deserve it. He experienced a broken world in order to heal it.
We have hope. If Jesus loves us that much, He will take care of us. Because God came to live with us, we know how to live with Him forever. Have you committed your life to Jesus? Have you accepted his gift of forgiveness? This Christmas, we won’t find hope in any of the gifts we find under the tree, but we can find it in this small phrase, “God with us.”
A Christ follower’s hope is not the same as unfounded optimism. It is confident expectation and assurance that our future is based on God’s love.
When you experience something difficult, such the death a loved one, a divorce, financial trouble or physical illness, it can be easy to lose hope You’ve probably wondered, “Why is this happening?” Even in these moments, we can put our trust in God. He hears us. He loves us and He will show us the next step and give us the strength to take it.
Philippians 4: 6-7 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
God will give us peace, and with that comes the hope to move forward.
Are carrying burdens today? Ask God for help. He wants us to share our heart with Him. Cast your burden on His loving shoulders.
Love. It’s a complicated thing. Every generation tries to understand love, fall in love, and explain love. People have gone to extremes to display their love for others, and thousands of years ago God did just that for each of us.
In Romans 5:8, Paul tells us God demonstrated His love for us this way: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Out of God’s great love for us He sent His only Son to pay the debt for our sins, even though we were His enemies, powerless and ungodly. God’s display of love was not conditional. It was not based on anything we had done or could ever do for Him. God knew that without His intervention we would be forever separated from Him.
Jesus’ obedience displayed grace in an amazing way. Jesus poured out His life for the forgiveness of our sins so we could be reconciled with God. Each of us, through faith, can have the opportunity to enter into a relationship with Jesus and experience peace with God, hope in every situation, and eternal life.
Having a relationship with Jesus doesn’t mean life is always easy. Rather, it provides us with the ability to face anything that comes our way. We can have hope in all situations, confident of God’s grace, His faithfulness, and His willingness to do whatever it takes to restore our relationship with Him.
We all carry burdens, and we carry them through our daily lives, and to bed at night. It’s hard to get out from under them. Sometimes our burdens are a result of past mistakes. Other times, they are out of our control. Things like financial debt, relational strife, unexpected illness, and hurt from our past weigh us down. Even though we don’t wake up rejoicing over carrying these burdens, in most cases we can’t sweep them under the carpet, they are too overwhelming.
Fortunately, David points to God as our great burden bearer in Psalm 145. To be a burden bearer means to understand and carry all our troubles and grievances for us. This does not necessarily mean God will take away all our burdens, but that He is with us in them, and He “…upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down” (Psalm 145:14).
The amazing thing about God is that He is not only willing to bear our burdens, He is able. David reminds us that:
God is gracious, compassionate and loving (v8-9).
God provides for all of our daily needs (v15-16).
God is near to those who call on him (v18-20).
Handing off our heavy burdens starts when we humbly admit, “God, I’m in over my head. I need your help.” We can trust that He is faithful and will come to our aid.
We are mere humans, but He is God who’s “greatness is unfathomable” (v3). He is not standing on the side-lines when life gets tough. When you are ready to collapse, call out to God. He is ready to help.
Sometimes life spirals out of control, and no one seems to be there to help. When our earthly support system disappears, it can often feel like God has abandoned us, too. Being in the midst of a storm is hard, and feeling alone in that storm is even harder.
In Psalm 22, David voices his frustrations about not feeling God in a moment of need. He also acknowledges that even though he feels abandoned, he isn’t, because God is still God and God is still good. In moments of fear, panic, or frustration, we too can cling to the truth the Bible gives us about WHO God is, and how much love He has for us.
Here are some promises David clings to in his suffering that can help us hold tightly to God’s character even when we can’t see or feel it:
1. God does not abandon us (Psalm 22:24).
2. God will always help us (Psalm 22:19, Psalm 22:26).
3. We can trust God to be with us through whatever we are up against (Psalm 22:3-5).
4 With God, there is not a single person or circumstance that can permanently defeat us (Psalm 22:27-28).
When life throws a curveball, and the catcher seems to be missing in action, we can cling to these constant truths and know that everything WILL be OK, not because of what we do, but because of who God is.
Pretend for a moment that you’re standing outside in a blizzard with only a t-shirt on comprar viagra barcelona. Would you refuse a jacket if one were offered to you? In the midst of freezing temperatures and billowing snows, the warmth a jacket provides would be more than desirable.
Not many of us would stand bare armed in a blizzard and refuse a jacket. We do, however, often refuse refuge from an even harsher environment. The tumultuous storms of this world can knock us clean off of our feet. However, we often find ourselves running toward the storm and away from the protection of a loving God.
When we refuse God, we also refuse His goodness and His blessings. When we turn away from his outstretched hand, we turn away from the protection and warmth He longs to give us. Nothing this world can offer us, even the good things, will ever lead to true contentment. The only thing this world has to offer us is a temporary fix that deceivingly leads to more emptiness.
Fortunately, we serve a God who holds more fulfilment, love, peace, healing and security than we could ever ask for. Ephesians 3:20 says God’s good is beyond our wildest imagination, and far greater than anything good this world has to offer. If we let go of our good things and open our hands and hearts to receive God’s goodness, we will have more good in our lives than we know what to do with.
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
In our desire for control, our yearning to have all the answers now, we pick the way we’ve rationalized to be best. On the surface, this way may not seem bad. We work hard. We help others. We try to be good people. But as exhausting as it is, it will never be enough. The Bible shows us it is not by our own work that we prosper, but by God’s grace.
It is scary to realize you are not in control, until you realize that God has perfect control. It’s actually a relief to find out you don’t have to work so hard to keep it all together.
In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul recalls what the Lord told him about having it all together: “But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
You can’t do it all on your own, so stop trying. Accept God’s gift of grace and let His power cover your weakness.
